Goodnight
by uvsns
Summary: Team Gai doesn't stay at inns very often, but long missions can be exhausting. Sure, there are some problems, especially in the beginning, but over the years they've gotten just as accustomed to spending the night together as any training schedule or battle tactic. / Oneshot


Team Gai doesn't stay at inns very often. In fact, the only times they do trade the outside air for a temporary roof above their heads, is when the weather is too bad to possibly be able to sleep outside (a constant downpour of rain mixed with a howling wind and thunder is enough to keep anyone awake) or when they have just finished a particularly exhausting mission and they are still too far away from home. And that was only when there actually was an inn available.

Really, extreme weather conditions were survivable (they usually just walked through the night to get to their destination when it got too bad) and when they were worn out they could sleep just about anywhere (they'd once managed to get a full night of sleep on the most uneven hardest ground with rocky spikes protruding the surface and they were all so sore the next morning but they were well-rested). Even so, a warm bed and a roof for shelter were always welcome.

The first time they stayed at an inn was when they'd taken their first mission outside Fire Country and the three young genins were so exhausted they had all just walked in to the first room Gai opened for them, not bothering with sleeping arrangements. Within seconds of entering they dragged themselves up to double bed and collapsed, only to promptly fall asleep. Gai had let them. He set up the necessary alarms and traps around the room before retreating to the other room they'd rented for the night. He'd teach them how to do it for themselves the next time.

Surprisingly, the impromptu sleeping arrangement stuck. Neji on the far left, Tenten in the middle, and Lee on the right side of the bed.

There were some issues that came with the occasional stay at an inn, but they'd worked out the ones that were too overbearing and others just weren't mentioned. And even if they were incredibly adapted to each other during the day, every single one of them had their own sleeping habits and quirks.

Lee is a deep sleeper. He's incredibly hard wake up and always lays sprawled out, taking up half of space. This results in a limited amount of space for his two teammates, but they don't mind.

Neji is a very light sleeper. Tenten isn't sure what causes it. It could be because of his childhood traumas or maybe it's just because he's a Hyuuga. The clan does suffer from the occasional kidnapping - it's not unthinkable they have evolved to be able to detect enemies while fast asleep.

Tenten is the bridge between her teammates. She's the place where the two extremes meet. She's not as silent and withdrawn as Neji, but she's not as overbearing as Lee either. She's the glue of their team, the key factor to make their team work. And it works like a well-oiled machine.

But that's just Tenten's opinion.

They tell each other everything. Any feeling, physical or emotional, is shared between the three. After all, anything that could throw their normal performance off even a little could make the difference between failure and success. Knowing means they're able to take it into account and mold their decisions during battle to fit it.

There are the things they don't tell each other. The little, insignificant things that one of them does and the others have grown accustomed to they don't even think about it anymore.

Most of these things they keep from each other revolve around their stays at inns.

Lee kicks and lashes out in his sleep. That's how he ends up taking half of the bed during those inn-nights.

It always happened. The first time, when they'd collapsed on the bed from exhaustion, he unconsciously slapped Tenten so hard she got a black eye and even Neji woke up. Thankfully, Tenten was too tired to throw a fit. (If she had, they would've had a high probability of being banned from the inn forever. Or they would've ended up on a blacklist for all other inns. If those existed anyway. Neji didn't know.) tired to even care to check the damage of the hit, she'd just scooted backwards a little, until her back hit Neji's. Tenten had curled up to a ball and fell asleep immediately after.

Neji is surprised by the sudden contact and, albeit almost unnoticeably, stiffens. But he allows the contact because for the first time since his father died he feels safe and comfortable and _loved. _He secretly starts looking forward to those rare nights when he and Tenten lay back to back, the comforting touch helping him sleep just a little better than any other night.

The next morning, Tenten tells Lee she got the black eye from yesterday's battle and he doesn't question it any further. They never tell him he occasionally hurts Tenten, because they know he does it because his limbs ache from opening the gates and spreading his limbs helps to soothe it. And maybe they really don't want to spend their mornings with Lee crying and begging for their forgiveness for his unyouthful behaviour.

Tenten never imagines they keep something like this from her too, and when she finds out she throws a fit. (Though this is much later in their teamwork and she knows how to control her temper.)

Tenten likes to take long, hot showers. She always showers first, a routine they've fallen into and never let go off just like the sleeping arrangement. And because even though Lee is always hyperactive and Neji doesn't seem to care for anything, they are the two biggest gentlemen in the world.

But Tentens long showers have the nasty consequence of leaving very little warm water for the boys to shower with. The second one to shower is always lucky to get a good thirty seconds, so Neji and Lee take turns in showering second and third.

They never tell Tenten, because they know how much those showers comfort her after intense missions. And they aren't phased by a cold shower. Lee sees it as training and Neji likes the way the cold water numbs his body just enough to stop feeling that hole in his heart his father left.

But while Neji makes it a point not to tell Tenten about her depriving showering sessions, Lee doesn't. It just never comes up, and he doesn't find it important at all. When it does come up, however, he spills the beans without a second thought.

She walked out of the bathroom looking guilty. "Guys," she says "I think I might've finished all the warm water."

Lee flashes her a smile and near-yells: "That doesn't matter, youthful flower of youth. We always shower cold!"

Tentens guilty look changes to a confused one. "You don't like hot showers?"

"Ofcourse I do! Hot showers are youthful!"

Tenten looks even more confused now, but she's not stupid and her eyes widen as she realizes she's been taking all the hot water for years.

She turns and glares at Neji to speak the words.

His simply replies, because he knows she knows. "You usually leave very little hot water, so we're used to it."

"I agree with Neji, flower of youth! We do not mind!" Lee pipes up, in a last (failed) attempt to try and save the situation.

And that ignites the inevitable anger.

"And you've never bothered to let me know?!" Her voice is loud and rings in both Lee and Neji's ears.

"No."

She beats both of them up that night but she does it because she loves them, even if she claims it's because they're idiots and they shouldn't treat her like a helpless girl.

* * *

So, that's it. I've got quite a lot of headcanons for team Gai, because they get too little screentime not to. Ugh, they deserve so much more.

I'm pretty nervous about publishing this, but please let me know what you think! (Also, English is not my native language, so if there are any mistakes please let me know. I can only learn from this!)

\- _uvsns_


End file.
